House committee calls for further investigation into telecom wiretapping

The House Commerce Committee is investigating the parent companies of the two largest mobile phone operators and Qwest Communications International Inc. to determine what extent they may have participated in the National Security Agency’s anti-terrorist warrantless wiretap program.
“Without question, the American government must be able to protect its citizens from terrorist threats. If reports about the government surveillance program are accurate, Congress has a duty to inquire about whether such a program violates the Constitution, as well as consumer protection and privacy laws,” said Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Commerce panel. “Congress has a duty to determine what occurred and also to examine the difficult position of the phone companies who may have been asked by the government to violate the privacy of their customers without the assurance of liability protections.”
The Bush administration, which recently confirmed involvement by one or more telecom carriers in the NSA domestic surveillance program, is struggling to win congressional approval of a measure to shield telecom companies from the kind of privacy lawsuits that have dogged them the past several years. The committee is focusing its attention on Qwest, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.
“As reports about government intelligence agencies running roughshod over telecommunications privacy laws continue to surface, I have grown more and more concerned that the rights of consumers are being lost in the shuffle. Protecting the homeland is vital, but such efforts should not undermine the essential privacy rights of American citizens,” said House telecom subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.). “Since the Bush administration has been unwilling to discuss adequately this situation, I hope these telecommunications companies will be more forthcoming about the circumstances in which they have disclosed consumer information. I also look forward to hearing the opinion of privacy advocates on these policies.”
The Justice Department has yet to respond to a March letter from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin seeking confirmation that the agency’s refusal to heed congressional calls to investigate telecom carriers is justified on national security grounds.
“Our government certainly has a responsibility to protect us from terrorism and threats to our national security, but that does not provide the government carte blanche to listen in on citizens’ calls,” said Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations. “I will be interested to learn what leverage, pressure and arguments the administration used in persuading these telecommunications carriers to release customers’ proprietary information.”
The three Democratic lawmakers sent additional letters to privacy advocate groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center, American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Democracy and Technology, to solicit their views on the effects of the increasing number of government databases including citizens’ personal information and the possibility these databases could be used for alternate purposes. The organizations were directed to respond by Oct. 12.